Europe - This summer’s Celine Dion LIVE 2017 tour, in support of her Encore un soir album, took the Canadian songstress on a 25-date tour of Europe in her first major tour for eight years. Dion’s lighting designer of 28 years, Yves Aucoin, put together a lighting design that featured 24 Ayrton MagicPanel-R fixtures. He says: “Celine takes her craft – and her audiences – seriously, and we spent a long time carefully listening to every song in her repertoire before choosing which she would perform and how they should look. Her collaboration with the design team comes in the early stages of a tour, after which point she concentrates on her performance and leaves us to our work on the visuals. She performs 26 songs in the show but selected 48 in total, switching between French and English from city to city. “On a tour of this scale, with venues t
South Africa - Callum Sutherland, the 18-year old founder of CSR Events, has invested in a dot2 XL-F console from DWR Distribution to compliment his six Robe LEDWash 300s fixtures. He plans to make this gear available for dry hire. Callum, who still studies at the St Stithians College in Johannesburg, has taken his hobby and grown it into a successful rental company. “Passion in this industry is a huge component and you have to really take care of everything from the equipment to the people because if you aren’t dedicated to making every factor of your production as good as possible you won’t grow as a business or person,” says Callum. He is said to remain committed to reinvesting "every last cent" back into CSR Events in the belief that this will place him in a better position in purchasing good quality equipment that can be hired out to the industry a
UK - Dartford-based laser system design specialists ER Productions have used £200,000 of funding from HSBC to finance high-end laser equipment and secure new concert and television contracts across the UK and internationally.As a result of the contract wins, the company is planning to take on new staff and is seeking bigger premises to accommodate the growing business. Sarah Milligan, HSBC’s area director in Kent, said: “Marc and his team have developed an award-winning company in just 10 years. Our support has helped fund their shows around the world and we look forward to supporting the purchase of new premises down the line.” Marc Webber, director of ER Productions said: “We have been with HSBC since we started the company back in 2007. HSBC helped us then with the loan we needed to start up and have continued to support us. In the last year we have investe
Denmark - Musikhuset Aarhus – also known as Aarhus Concert Hall – in Aarhus, Denmark, is the latest in a number of high profile theatre venues in Scandinavia to invest in Robe, with a substantial purchase of 78 x Spiider LED wash beam fixtures. These are primarily designated for use in their main hall where they will be “workhorse fixtures” explained head of lighting Ole Nielsen. Located right in the centre of Denmark’s second city, Musikhuset is a major music venue and features five principal auditoriums - a 1600-capacity Stor Sal (Main Hall); the 1200-seater Symfonisk Sal (Symphonic Hall); the Lille Sal (Small Hall) with capacity of 300, the Rytmisk Sal (Rhythmic Hall) a flexible space that can accommodate 500 seated or 1000 standing, and where most of the rock and electronic music shows are staged. The Kammermusiksalen hosts chamber music recitals. I
UK - The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) recently partnered with White Light to support the technical training of students over the course of the next year. As part of the partnership, the company will supply the equipment on internal productions, offer demonstration equipment for lectures and classes, introduce students to key industry members. The partnership will also benefit WL’s existing apprenticeship scheme, with RADA tutors running masterclasses and the WL apprentices embarking on a training opportunity at RADA in the summer. Neil Fraser, RADA’s director of technical training, comments: “Having worked with WL previously and knowing their own commitment to training the next generation of theatre practitioners, it seemed like a natural step to move into a partnership together. “This is a really exciting opportunity for both organisations
USA - Entertainment solutions company High Output decorated Boston’s City Hall Plaza using Elation Professional IP65-rated lighting for this year’s HUBweek festival. With over 200 speakers, 150 events and 130 artists, the annual civic event brought together creatives in technology, science and art to foster innovation in the area. Held on 12-15 October, HUBweek 2017 saw a different format than in previous years. Whereas a variety of sites around town have played host to past festivals, this year the festival was centrally located on Boston’s City Hall Plaza, dubbed The HUB. Designed in collaboration with design firm CBT, The HUB featured six geodesic domes, which housed talks, performances, and other interactive experiences, while a scattering of shipping containers were used to house events and art. High Output provided all production suppor
USA - Robe (booth 715) will showcase its new MegaPointe multi-functional moving light, bringing all the excitement and buzz of real live performance to the exhibition floor at the Robe City Music Hall which will present the MegaPointe Live show. Visitors can also see several other new products being shown for the first time at a U.S trade show including the BMFLTM LightMaster and from the PATT range, Pixel PATTTM, PATT 2017TM and onePATT TM. Visitors can also enjoy the Robe team’s carefully curated atmospheric engineering which will include a Happy Hour on Friday and Saturday from 3 – 6pm complete with their famous Czech hospitality. Robe and sister company, architectural LED specialist Anolis, which has its own dedicated section of the booth, are looking forward to a lively and buoyant show connecting with existing industry clients, fans and friends as well
USA - At LDI this year, TMB will once again feature new technology in a comfortable, laid back setting. Following on the success of the Flare and Flare LR fixtures, this year TMB will introduce the new Flare Q+ Rayzr. The Rayzr offers Flare brightness, control, performance, and video-mapping features in a low-profile, razor-thin format. Flexible mounting and joining options are available for scenery, truss, pipe, and floor. Vertically hang coupled units up to 3m in total length. Rayzr has both silent and super-bright modes, and is available in 50 and 100cm lengths. ProPlex PowerData, a new addition to TMB’s range of popular cables, is the first and only UL-Listed range of integrated data and mains power cables, 100% legal for extra-hard duty usage per NEC 520 and 530. This range of cables is built to a new, collaboratively developed, UL standard. Both flexible and d
USA - This year, Le Maitre is celebrating its 40th anniversary. To mark the occasion, they will be unveiling their new Wireless Salamander Quad Pro at this year’s LDI (Booth 2867), as well as showing a whole host of their other smoke, haze, flames and pyrotechnics. Le Maitre’s Wireless Salamander Quad Pro is a completely wireless version of the popular Salamander Quad Pro flame machine, with integrated wireless COBRA Firing Systems technology. With an internal chargeable battery and no running cables, the Wireless Salamander Quad Pro can simply be put in place and switched on, making it easy, quick and safe to use. The four-canister flame unit offers a great level of versatility. Each canister can be fired independently, producing 30 seconds of continuous flame or up to 120 flame balls. Each flame reaches up to 15ft in height. Alternatively, all four canisters can
USA - Automation and motion control manufacturer Kinesys will exhibit at LDI for the first time on its own booth - 843 - where they will be creating a strong presence with an international team and an eye-catching design showing a selection of key products which will be moving and working in situ. Having focussed on building brand presence in the U.S. in recent years, which has included attending the last few LDIs and walking the floor, the next phase in that strategy explained founder and CEO Dave Weatherhead, “is to put ourselves right in front of potential customers, for which LDI - attracting a wide cross-section of high quality decision makers and influencers - is a perfect opportunity”. Kinesys will be showing their new Apex system which incorporates the best of Kinesys’ extensive experience working with variable speed chain hoists. Apex offers a range of s
Denmark - Each summer, the popular Danish festival Grøn visits multiple cities providing music, stunning stage performances, and fun activities to a huge audience. Though accompanied by unsteady weather, the bright summer days in Denmark demand extremely powerful lighting sources. With this in mind, lighting designer Kristian Holm Nielsen turned to the SGM’s Q-7 as the right fit to illuminate Christopher’s show during the eight summer concerts. "Performing in direct sunlight, my main focus was definitely getting light sources that could provide a powerful blinder effect – even when accompanied by a very bright sun,” said Kristian. When asked why the Q-7 was chosen for this project, Kristian simply but firmly replied: “The output. Definitely the output.” With a track record of over 10 years in the business, Kristian had worked on countless shows prior to C
Mexico - Fashion Drive is a world-class shopping centre in Monterrey, Mexico, that offers all the amenities of modern retail. Located in the city’s contemporary municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Fashion Drive is a high- profile shopping centre whose modern design goes beyond shopping to embrace leisure, entertainment, dining, and even a hotel. Opened in March 2017, the modern shopping mall features top fashion brand stores and stretches across four levels. An eye-catching lighting scheme was sought to project multi-chromatic shades onto the building’s modern architecture, both indoors at a large atrium area and on the outdoor facade. Tasked with dynamically illuminating the façade and livening up the interior ceiling in a variety of shades was Elation’s Mexican partner, Adimsa, who worked with Monterrey-based Luxe Lighting on the project. The two companies work
USA- Ayrton will present four new products for the first time in the USA at the upcoming LDI show at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. The company, which has taken booth #2443, is also running a new variation on its light show, which will be designed by LD Cory FitzGerald. Visitors to the booth will also see over 300 new Ayrton fixtures presented in a ‘crystal dome’ and have the chance to sit in special gaming chairs. The Ayrton products making their US debut at LDI 2017 are Ghibli, Merak, Minipanel-FX and WildSun K25 TC. The fixtures were launched earlier this year at Prolight + Sound Frankfurt and PLASA London respectively. Ghibli is Ayrton’s first LED spot luminaire and marks an expansion of Ayrton’s Automated Lighting range. Compact, elegant and lightweight, Ghibli delivers an impressive 23,000 lumen output which makes it powerful enough for large sc
The Netherlands - Highlite International reports that HVR Show Equipment has invested in 26 Infinity iM-2515s. Ravenstein-based HVR Show Equipment supplies high-grade lighting and sound equipment for big events such as the Amsterdam Dance Event and Defqon.1. The company believes the iM-2515s are the answer to their customers’ wishes and demands for creative solutions. The 26 iM-2515s are now available in HVR Show Equipment’s range of rentable products. (Jim Evans)
UK - Lighting and visual designer Andy Hurst created a collage of lighting, lasers, set and video for Chase & Status sold-out show at London’s Brixton Academy. This was the band’s second live appearance in the UK this year after headlining the Lovebox Festival, for which lighting equipment and crew was supplied by HSL, who have been associated with the band for several years. Andy took the base elements of this show from his design for Lovebox, which he re-scaled and re-worked to fit the Academy’s stage. A key to delivering the full-on audio and visual onslaught that was needed to accompany the vibrancy and energy of the music is having multiple visual layers and aspects that can complement, contrast and be juxtaposed. These can then be ‘played’ live and flowed with the rhythm and the action happening onstage, applying these visual elements
USA - The Event Production Department at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia has increased its lighting inventory by adding Claypaky Scenius Spots and Scenius Unicos. They will be used in the Vines Centre, the university’s basketball and volleyball arena, which is also used for concerts, special events and their Convocation service three times a week. The purchase is the first stage in a “five-year upgrade of our lighting and audio equipment,” according to Amy Justice, lighting director and Tier 2 production technician in the department. She adds: “Most of the Scenius fixtures will be mounted around the ring of the arena but we will keep four for portable and floor lighting. Scenius gives us lots of options for front lighting for various stages, and better ambient lighting and mid-air effects lighting.” The choice of Scenius was a “team effort” of
UK - eLumen8 LED battens were used during the boxing match at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff that saw British boxer Anthony Joshua retain his WBA ‘super’, IBF heavyweight and IBO heavyweight titles. Joshua was illuminated by 24 of the eLumen8 LED Tour Batten TW as he made his ring entrance through the tunnel, with his initials ‘AJ’ in flames at the end of it. Andrew Jeffrey, managing director of the Prolight Concept Group, says: “The second model in the eLumen8 Tour Batten Series is the TW (Tuneable White) which features a newly designed combination of LEDs with specially designed collimators and specifically written software to emulate the dimming curve and colour temperature shift of a dimmed halogen lamp. Industry standard chassis dimensions allow the battens to easily fit into flight cases already in circulation for the halogen versions, so when upgr
USA - “Why would you light a bridge with moving fixtures?” Tracey Dear heard this question on more than one occasion when he specified Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Washes to bathe Chicago’s Clark Street and Dearborn Street Bridges in a vibrant purple for the Susan G. Komen Ignite the Fight fundraiser to aid cancer research. For Dear, the answer revolved around a single word - “flexibility”. “Some people wondered why I would want movers on a static focus,” said Dear, the owner of Chicago-based Dear Productions. “However, I learned from past experience that in a project like this, you may need to change things quickly. When that happens, there may not be the time to make your adjustments with static fixtures. Sure enough, on the night of this fundraiser we got a call from the Coast Guard telling us that we had to reposition our lights because of the glare on t
Chile - Robert Juliat has appointed Santiago-based VGL as its official distributor in Chile. Founded in 1992, VGL is a leading distributor of entertainment lighting equipment used in the concert touring, theatrical and architectural industries in Chile. Francisco Jaramillo, VGL sales & marketing director, comments: "We are very excited to start a business relationship with Robert Juliat. The market recognises the brand as the world leader of quality lighting equipment for theatres, events, TV studios and more. “Robert Juliat is the first name in profile spots, followspots, Fresnels and PCs. We have a similar company culture, committed to quality and good service. We think that together, we will be very successful in the Chilean market.” Robert Juliat sales director, Claus Spreyer, adds: “We are very happy to work with VGL. Thanks to its values, co
UK - GDS has announced the appointment of Harry Pain to the post of sales and marketing assistant. Harry is a recent graduate, holding a BA (Hons) in Event and Hospitality Management, who joins the company after three years’ experience in administration, office support, research and content creation for Penny Brohn UK, a major cancer support organisation. Managing Director Matt Lloyd comments: "Harry possesses exactly the drive and energy that is required within the GDS team. These are very exciting times for us, we are growing and our products, new and established, are having a global impact that is driving demand at an ever-increasing rate.” Harry Pain adds, "I'm very excited to be joining GDS. There is an incredible buzz around the place and it was pretty quickly apparent that everyone on the team is passionate about their work.” (Jim Evans)
USA - X-Laser has recently completed Project Mercury - a product that will “change the course of laser history”. The company has revealed Project Mercury signifies X-Laser’s proprietary system for controlling laser projectors directly from a lighting console. Mercury-equipped laser fixtures can be discovered, profiled, configured and programmed directly from the lighting console. By leveraging the powerful tools already built into today's lighting desks, LDs can control an array of lasers just like how they’d control an array of moving-head fixtures. For maximum functionality and compatibility, Mercury features DMX+RDM and Art-Net protocols, and will feature sACN (E1.31/E1.33) in the future. "X-Laser has always been about one thing: bringing lasers to as many people as possible,” Adam Raugh, X-Laser’s president, says. “Using input fr
USA - Elation Professional has introduced DARTZ 360, a LED beam/spot fixture that offers new projection possibilities from a compact, narrow-beam luminaire. The DARTZ 360 is the first RGB source beam/spot to combine such a high level of output with smooth colour-mixing, gobos, effects and sharp optics in such a small package, says the company. A single-source 50W RGB LED engine produces a powerful and tight 3-degree beam for smooth, colour-mixed beam effects similar to a discharge lamp. Output is 29,000 Lux @ 5M. Bright for its wattage and size, the combined LED engine source/optics package not only provides brighter output than previous multi-chip LED “beam” solutions, the field of light is also noticeably more homogeneous. Safe to use at any distance, the DARTZ 360 is suitable for use in smaller clubs and at smaller events. The DARTZ 360 features a full-co
UK - Bristol-based Utopium illuminated TEDxBristol as influencers from all over the world took to the stage to inform and inspire attendees. Now in its fifth year, TEDxBristol is one of the largest TEDx events in the UK and attracted over 4,000 delegates, with thousands more joining online through a live stream. Taking place over two days at Bristol’s Colston Hall, the programme of talks was loosely based around a wider theme of ‘disruption’. Utopium provided SGM G-4 LED IP 65 Wash lights, a new addition to its inventory, to light the stage presentations and audience from the front truss. The stage was also lit from the balcony with Utopium’s ETC 64s. The set was lit with a number of Miltec LED Batten 2s and backlit with Martin MAC Quantum Profiles. Chauvet Nexus 4x4 LED fixtures were built into the set panels and also suspended around the s
UK - Manchester-based film, television and photographic equipment rental company PKE Lighting has invested in 16 LSC Lighting Systems consoles to provide its customer base with simple manual control of fixtures on high-profile film and television production projects. PKE Lighting were looking to invest in fader-based consoles that would provide ease of use for end users working on studio, stage and on-location projects. PKE's Matt Evans approached LSC's UK-exclusive distributor, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET), who supplied six LSC MINIM 24 fader consoles, plus four maXim M 48 fader and six MaXim XXL 120 fader desks. He commented: "The LSC desks have been in and out on film and television production jobs ever since we purchased them, and without any issues at all. We and our customers are really happy with them. As always, the service from A.C. has been e
